If you’re planning to venture into the Forex markets your journey should obviously start by partnering up with the best forex broker in Canada.
However, choosing the right Canadian online brokerage isn’t always a straightforward process. In fact, the top brokers in Canada are widely different from one another.
As such, to determine the best brokers in Canada, we looked at elements such as pricing, fees, support, range of currencies and instruments, trading tools, supported markets, educational materials, relevant market analysis, and regulations.
By going through the motions with us you might find that some Canadian forex brokers will suit your trading style while others won’t.
Who Is the Best Forex Broker in Canada?
Ultimately, finding the best trading platforms in Canada will be up to the trader in question.
While some Canadian investors will prefer to have a low spread or no account fees, others will rather think that the best Canadian online brokerage will be the one which allows them to diversify more (ex: also providing access to the stock market).
As such, where one trader sees portfolio diversification capabilities like stock broking/stock exchanges access as a nice-to-have feature, others will consider it a must-have one.
Active traders will enjoy some benefits while those who opt for a passive trading strategy will enjoy completely different online brokers (ex: no inactivity fees).
As such, the best Canadian brokerage will vary in correlation with the users’ preferences. When looking for the best Canadian trading platform in terms of trustworthiness, regulation is the most important criteria.
The platforms we mentioned in this article are fully regulated in top-tier jurisdictions and provide an excellent customer service experience.
As for Canadian traders, IIROC-regulated brokers are highly regarded.
Choosing a Forex Broker in Canada
Our reasoning is simple: to find a reliable and transparent broker you need to look for:
- Regulation
- Fees and Commissions
- Wide range of Forex pairs
- A good selection of trading tools
- Educational content, relevant analysis, and newsfeeds
- Great customer service
As such, you should use these criteria to find your perfect match. Depending on your trading style, trade volume, and the number of trades, you’ll find that results may greatly vary.
Which Forex Broker in Canada Is Best for Beginners?
For those only starting out their forex trading journey, we highly recommend looking beyond a simple discount brokerage.
In fact, your priority should be finding the best Canadian brokerage in terms of educational materials and customer service, rather than simply searching for the lowest spread or the highest leverage.
Online trading platforms in which you can buy and sell stocks and currencies are aplenty but finding a brokerage firm which allows you to grow as a trader is quintessential.
So, whether that’s through reading, reports, copy trading, or even a robo advisor, just remember that you need to be on a path of personal growth and your trading account should reflect that.
Is Forex Trading Legal in Canada?
With plenty of online brokerages to choose from, it is important to mention that while forex trading is legal in Canada, the forex industry happens to be heavily regulated.
Given that every region has its very own regulator, the Canadian regulatory landscape is much more complicated than in other countries.
Regardless, when going with a broker that operates in Canada, you will want to make sure that it is regulated by IIROC (the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada) and/or licensed by a specific region within Canada, as it will be a way of knowing your money is safe.
In fact, the two biggest names you’ll hear are:
- The IIROC, which is a Canadian SRO (self-regulatory organization) that regulates the Canadian currency markets.
- The CSA (Canadian Securities Regulatory Authorities) comprises the country’s provincial and territorial securities regulators with the intent of enforcing a harmonized strategy.
So, make sure the broker you choose is operating within these organizations' bounds.
CMC Markets
CMC Markets is a top forex broker in Canada as it offers access to over 330 forex pairs, meaning this is the place where Canadian traders go to find access to exotic currency pairs.
As such, CMC Markets is the best FX broker for those who wish to embrace volatility to its fullest. No commissions are charged on FX trades and spreads are tight with EUR/USD starting at 0.7pips.
CMC Markets is perfect for Canadian traders on a budget as there is no minimum deposit required to get started.
Moreover, they feature a wide range of CFD instruments, meaning you’ll find just about everything there from ETFs, to stocks, metals, energies, and even Bitcoin access.
You can also expect to be met with a morning market update and solid weekly insights.
CMC Markets Features
- Forex Pairs: 330+
- Pricing: 0% commission (forex)
- Minimum Spread: 0.7 pips
- Minimum Deposit: no minimum deposit
Capital.com
Whether it’s in terms of instruments, or fees, Capital.com is certainly a contender for the top forex broker operating in Canada.
Capital.com can be used as an entry point into the forex market as it grants access to 138 forex pairs. Between minors, majors, and even exotics, Canadian forex traders will certainly find the currency pair they’re looking for.
Trading opportunities are aplenty as account holders can also apply leverage to their position as they place an order. However, you should know that those leverage limits can and will vary depending on two factors: whether you’re a retail client or a professional one (account type), and which forex pair you’re planning to trade.
In terms of fees, Capital.com doesn’t apply commissions to your position regardless of which forex pair you’re trading. There are, however, overnight fees which might deter some traders out there.
Canadians are also able to both deposit and withdraw their funds from their Capital.com account with no associated fees.
In what concerns Capital.com’s trading suite, you’ll be met with advanced features and trading tools. MT4 is supported, and trading on the go is possible with their free mobile app.
As for educational content, you can expect tools, market insights, webinars, a convenient newsfeed, and handy trading explainers.
Creating an account and funding it are straightforward processes. To do so, all you need to do is deposit $20 if you’re using a credit or debit card, or $250 if you’re going with a bank wire transfer.
Lastly, but not less important, Capital.com is regulated in top-tier jurisdictions, namely FCA, ASIC, NBRB, and CySEC.
Capital.com features
- Forex Pairs: 138
- Pricing: 0% commission
- Minimum Spread: 0.6 pips
- Minimum Deposit: $20 on credit/debit card, $250 on wire transfers
Vantage
Vantage launched in 2009 and hasn’t stopped working towards user empowerment ever since.
The multi-asset CFD platform offers investors the opportunity to pick between two account types (Raw ECN account or a standard STP account). Going with the standard STP requires a minimum deposit of $200. It allows you for FX trading with no commission. However, you’ll also be met with a higher spread.
As for its Raw ECN counterpart, the minimum deposit goes up to $500. Raw ECN account holders will see a lower spread, but they’ll also be trading with commission fees.
Access to either of these is possible through their mobile app (on Android and/or iOS) and through both the MT4 and the MT5 platforms, meaning you’ll find room to fully customize your experience with whichever tool or chart you see fit.
If you’re an inexperienced trader or just looking for educational materials, Vantage has got you covered with market guides, articles catered for beginners, webinars, economic calendars and daily market updates.
In what concerns regulation, amongst many other global regulatory entities, Vantage is regulated by the FCA, VFSC and ASIC.
Vantage Features
- Forex Pairs: 44
- Pricing: STP account (0% commission + high spread) or ECN account (commission based + low spread)
- Minimum Spread: STP 1.2 pips, ECN 0.2 pips
- Minimum Deposit: STP $250, ECN $500
AvaTrade
Avatrade is easily one of the best IIROC-regulated brokers in Canada.
This CFD trading platform runs its show alongside Friedberg Direct which is a member of the IIROC (the Regulatory Organization of Canada).
Their successful partnership grants their users access to 55 forex pairs, meaning all major and minors are covered. You will also find a decent number of exotics.
You’ll be thankful to see that when entering a position, whether to buy or to sell, no trading commissions are charged.
EUR/USD spreads start at 0.9pips so you’ll find that spreads are indeed within a reasonable range.
Your trading sessions can be done through AvaTrade’s website or on the go via their mobile app (Android and iOS compatible). Given that it supports both MT4 and MT5.
As for technical indicators and trading tools, Canadian traders can expect to have access to the latest resources.
In what concerns leverage, AvaTrade features up to 1:50 for majors.
Complementing its currency pairs, AvaTrade also supports stocks, metals, indices, crypto, and energies, meaning that there’s a wide range of CFD markets to pick and choose from.
AvaTrade features
- Forex Pairs: 55
- Pricing: 0% commission
- Minimum Spread: 0.9 pips
- Minimum Deposit: $100
Oanda
Oanda is where forex traders from Canada will find over 70 pairs, no commissions (on standard accounts) and spreads starting at 1.2 pips.
Moreover, if you’re a retail trader in Canada, you can leverage up to 50:1 on your account.
There are usually some great welcome bonus offers over at Oanda so make sure to check them out. As for deposits, users can do it via bank transfer, and credit or debit card.
Oanda has a proprietary platform which works either on the web, on your desktop, or conveniently on your mobile phone.
Moreover, Oanda features some great tools, such as its Forex news feed and the highly regarded daily technical analysis reports.
Oanda Features
- Forex Pairs: 70
- Pricing: 0% commission (forex)
- Minimum Spread: 1.2 pips
- Minimum Deposit: no minimum deposit
FOREX.com
With over 3000 CFD instruments, stocks, indices, commodities, and access to over 80 currency pairs, Forex.com is a great choice for Canadian forex traders who might be looking for a well-rounded offer.
Spreads can vary throughout the day as they correlate with broader market conditions. Regardless, you’ll find EUR/USD starting at 0.8pips and GBP/USD at a minimum of 0.6pips. As such, spreads are incredibly tight and competitive.
As for leverage, Canadians can count on 1:50 leverage on major pairs and creating an account is a seamless process which can be done in roughly 10 minutes and with no minimum deposit on wire (but $100 minimum on Paypal or credit/debit cards).
FOREX.com features
- Forex Pairs: 80+
- Pricing: 0% commission (except on stocks)
- Minimum Spread: 0.8 pips
- Minimum Deposit: no minimum deposit on bank transfers, $100 on credit cards, debit cards, and Paypal
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers need no introduction. The award-winning broker offers a trading suite which experienced traders have come to love.
As such, seasoned traders tend towards IB due to things like its interbank quote access which allows them to trade with other market participants.
Accordingly, this means that spreads can be some of the narrowest in the market (with 1/10 of a pip being a real possibility). Commissions range from 0.08 to 0.2bps (no markups) and Canadians can also count on IB’s deep liquidity levels.
Interactive Brokers features
- Forex Pairs: 100+
- Pricing: starting from 0.08% bps
- Minimum Spread: starting from 1/10 of a pip
- Minimum Deposit: no minimum deposit
Eightcap
Eightcap is a well-established forex broker in Canada. It has earned the trust of Canadian forex traders with 0.0 pip spreads and other great features.
Eightcap features two types of accounts: a standard account which is commission-free but with spreads ranging between 0.5 and 1.8 pips, and a Raw account with a spread of 0.0 pip but with a $3.5 commission per lot.
Both the standard and the raw account operate with a minimum trade size (0.01 lots) and 80% margin call level.
The minimum deposit is $100, and you can fund your account via payment methods, such as Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Neteller, etc.
Eightcap features
- Forex Pairs: 40+
- Pricing: 0% commission possible
- Minimum Spread: 0.0 pips
- Minimum Deposit: $100
Wrapping Up
Forex trading can be a complicated venture, but also one that is certainly a high-risk endeavor. However, this process is simplified by working with some of the top forex brokers in Canada.
It is important to do your homework and own research prior to working or engaging with any brokerage services in Canada. With so many options available, there are plenty of quality companies to choose from.
